Graduates of the Clark College GED/High School Completion program were visited by Oswald, the schools mascot, as they lined up outside the OConnell Sports Center before the commencement ceremony Saturday.

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We dont make our journeys by ourselves. We need good journey- mates.

Dr. Hannah Abraham-Shea

2009 New Arrival Replica Associate director of basic education at Clark College, speaking on perseverance Saturday at the GED/High School Completion commencement ceremony.

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Graduates of the Clark College GED/High School Completion program, along with their families and friends, packed the OConnell Sports Center on Saturday for a 90-minute commencement ceremony.

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Whistles, claps and occasional shout-outs We love you, man greeted the nearly 70 graduates honored at Saturdays Clark College GED/High School Completion ceremony.

The graduates and their families packed inside the OConnell Sports Center shortly after 11 a.m. for the 90-minute celebration that saw some students on the receiving ends of screams usually reserved for the likes of rock stars.

For many, celebrating the completion of their general education or high school diploma was years in the making. The superstar treatment was earned.

This is a big accomplishment, Patricia Howe said of her older sister, Michelle Howe, 27, who received her GED.

A single mother, Michelle Howe overcame drugs and other setbacks along her path to accepting her diploma from Clark College President Bob Knight, her sister said, adding: Im very proud of her.

The days theme was one of perseverance, treating the newly earned degree not as an endpoint but a springboard. Dr. Hannah Abraham- Shea, a German immigrant who barely attended primary school and dropped out before ever reaching high school, delivered the keynote address.

Over a span of 17 years, she completed her GED, Ph.D. and everything in between.

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I fell many times in my 17-year journey from GED to Ph.D, but I finished each of my three degrees nonetheless, Abraham-Shea told the students. I learned to ask questions, not to feel shame when I did not understand something; I learned that I brought valuable experiences to the table even if they were very different than my classmates.

Abraham-Shea, now Clark Colleges associate director of basic education, said later that she hoped her words inspired students, as so many of her mentors inspired her when she first took on the task of completing her GED.

We dont make our journeys by ourselves, she said. We need good journey-mates.

Two graduates, one of whom received his GED and one who finished his high school diploma, were invited by President Knight to share their stories.

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Allen Darst of Vancouver dropped out of high school at 17 and left home. Over 10 years, he moved from one city to the next, dabbling in drugs along the way.

Eventually, he said, he got tired of being a nobody. Now, Darst has already completed two terms at Clark College.

I intend to get my associates in science, and then transfer to a 4-year university where I will get my d
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